YWAM Publishing- Orville Wright: The Flyer Review

 

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product through the Homeschool Review Crew

The last few weeks we have been reading Orville Wright:The Flyer and their Heroes of History series. We love the YWAM Publishing books and have enjoyed reading the books as a family.

Another resource available to go in depth with the books is an optional Downloadable Unit Study Guide.

YWAM stands for Youth with a Mission. They have a plethora of historical books to choose from in their two series: Heroes of History and Christian Heroes: Then and Now. I don’t have to ever worry about the content within the pages of the books as their historical biographies are filled with men and women of Christian values and morals.  

The biographies are intended for 10 and up. I have been reading books from YWAM Publishing since my kids were very young. The Unit Study Curriculum is for 10 and up.  

This is a paperback book with 203 pages and 17 chapters.

Synopsis:

The Wright brothers were intrigued with flight as young boys when their father gave them a small gift of a helicopter made from paper, cork, and bamboo. They watched with amazement as the rubber band wound tightly watching the helicopter fly in the air for 10 seconds. Their imagination never ceased about a flying machine after that day. They tried to make it bigger with more propellers to make it fly longer. The year was 1878.

 The boys were always inventing and fixing things. They observed things closing and had a keen mind to make things work. The boys built and flew kites that were lighter and bigger than their friends.  Wilbur’s was interested in observing hawks and other birds led to lots of contemplation between the brothers and soon sketches and a successful event with a kite that could move the way they designed it.

Eventually, the boys build a large printing press from scraps they found. They were able to print thousands of pages in an hour that left some dumbfounded as to how they made it work. It led to their entrepreneurial spirit.

Then the new safety bicycle became a craze that led the brothers to open a bicycle shop in 1892, they sold and fixed bikes. This led the brothers into manufacturing their own design in 1896. Orville inventing a self-oiling wheel hub for their bike design.

Their love of aeronautics never left their mind as they followed the latest news on flying. After the death of a German aviator, the Wright brothers felt they could build a better design. They had failures and successes throughout the years. They eventually ended up in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina due to the wind in the area for flying. It was a successful and inspiring event that changed the course of the brother’s life. They experimented with different wing types, rudders, engines, and other components. They never gave up and in 1903 made the first controlled flight by a power-driven airplane.

Study Guide:

The Study Guide is 84 pages and covers each of the 17 chapters in the book. The Study Guide downloads as a PDF. The Study Guide covers several subjects like history, geography, essays, vocabulary, reading comprehension, creative writing, public speaking, drama, and art. It is broken up in two PDFs.

The file comes as a zipped file that will need to be extracted.  It has two unit studies. One has the Curriculum Guide and the other one has several maps, a biography fact sheet, and a timeline.  

It’s broken down so that you can use it as a full unit study or to pick and choose what works for your family.

Study Guide:

Key Quotes- quotes from the individual. This can be used as memorization or even copywork to further your study.

Display Corner-this is a selections of items that can be displayed. Maps of the area, pictures of bicycles before 1900, advertisement of Wright’s bicycle shop, photographs, and other related items are suggestions in this particular book.

Chapter Questions- a few comprehension questions about the chapter. The questions are open ended for your student to express their thoughts. 

Student Explorations-hands on activities of craft projects, a something for every learning style, and also some opportunity for creative writing assignments. This could be audio or visual median.

Community Links- a resource of field-trips and service projects.

Related Themes to Explore- covers politics and law, current events, several magazine articles, and websites.

Social Studies -maps, vocabulary, timelines, critical thinking, and so much more.

Related Themes to Explore- more information to find out about the topics.

Culminating Events -resources for project displays, era music, food, and activities, and an oral presentation.

Appendix A: Book and Resources

Appendix B: Answers to the Chapter Questions

Appendix C: Social Studies Reproducible

How did I use this in my homeschool?

Heroes of History-Orville Wright: The Flyer was read independently by my 15 year old son the last several weeks. I read the book myself in the evenings.

I downloaded the Study Guide and looked over it before the book arrived. At this particular junction in my life we didn’t do the Study Guide. We have used many of the Study Guides throughout the years in various ways. Sometimes using it as a whole and other times just sections of it. The guides are very impressive and informative. 

This book was an intriguing book for my son who loves exploring how things work. He enjoyed learning how Orville and Wilbur explored different methods and thought outside of the box. This book was a good fit for him with how things work. There was enough detail to understand the struggles, persistence, and passion to never give up.

My son said, “The story read slow at times and spent a lot of time on the details and repetitive at times.” He didn’t mind the story and was impressed with the Wright brothers and their passion and not giving up. 

We have read several books from YWAM Publishing and have never been disappointed. YWAM Publishing has spoken volumes to my children’s heart and minds with each and every book throughout the years.

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Other books have been reading other titles from YWAM Publishing during this time. You can click on the graphic below to find out more.